Louis Joncas, Unititled, from the Naturalis series, 2003, C-print, edition of 6, 96.5 x 71 cm
The gallery Pierre-François Ouellette art contemporain is pleased to announce the exhibition of recent work by Louis Joncas from March 20 to April 17. This is Louis Joncas`s first solo show in Quebec and he will be presenting photographs from his new series entitled: Naturalis.
"My work reflects a basic desire to find and create meaning in my life. It stems from question about realities I am confronted with. Looking beneath the surface of appearances, my photographs are philosophical investigations on life, and the forces of time. Through photography I reflect upon issues of materialism and transcendence, life and death.
Naturalis is based on a place in the boreal forest in northern Quebec.Over the course of a year, I documented the changing seasons to provide a portrait of natures transformative cycles. The places in these photographs are defined by personal, temporal and spacial relationships I have with nature. They are personal, contemplative spaces, through which we can interpret our own lives and situations. For me these images are as much about what I imagine as what they depict and symbolize for others.
Spending most of my life in cities where time gets faster and faster in our highly mediated culture, our perceptions of time and space are changing. It is the era of the nano-second and genetic engineering. Time has been fragmented and measured into smaller and smaller increments. It is broken up, categorized and commodified. We feel this impact on our lives now more than ever. With these images I attempt to slow down the the viewer and the process of viewing. This refers to the direct experience of nature where time seems to be in slow motion.
?Nature? with its inherent beauty and sublime characteristics offers unlimited signification and metaphors. It provides the basis for life of all living things.
Naturalis pursues my investigations started in my earlier work on the theme of the vanitas and memento mori. I decided to use the landscape as a subject to explore these relationships. By isolating these fragments of nature and bringing them to the forefront, it forces the viewer to contemplate nature, therefore, at the same time to reflect on their own lives." - Louis Joncas
Louis Joncas' work can be found in the collections of the National Gallery of Canada, the Canadian Museum of Contemporary Photography, the Ottawa Art Gallery, the City of Ottawa and the New Orleans Museum of Art.